Windows (and MS DOS before) does an incredible amount of thrashing on the system files. Why it moves things around so much has always been a mystery to me, but the results are: slower operation as time goes by, which drives the need to de-frag, which drives crashes. MS actually recommended doing re-installs every year because they can't keep the file system clean.

I've been running a Linux system for five years and haven't needed to de-frag once. In my last job, we never de-fragged a single Solaris or Linux box and we had hundreds of them. Drive failures were just that, hardware burnouts, mainly motor failures after 3-4 years.

Don't get me wrong, I made my living in the 80's fixing MS problems. Bailed at 3.51

Get and external drive, backup & if you have the install disks, get a clean start. Otherwise, re-partition.

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...Get and external drive, backup & if you have the install disks, get a clean start. Otherwise, re-partition.

I think the Sony machines only come with those stupid 'recovery' CD's instead of a vanilla XP disk so that may restore the original partition scheme. I haven't touched a Sony machine since they first came out though so my information may be out of date.

Edit: I should mention, get the external drive and backup regardless of any other issues. Backup, backup, backup!

I don't trust a HD beyond 3 years.
Just my theory...
They increased the platter capacity from 10gb to 120gb (etc) without changing any other design changes or firmware changes. Then they ramped up production.

I think the Sony machines only come with those stupid 'recovery' CD's instead of a vanilla XP disk so that may restore the original partition scheme.

Yeah, I cringe when someone brings me a Sony laptop to fix. They have tons of proprietary crap that keeps you from doing things the easy way...

I second (third? fourth?) the recommendation to backup your important files, reformat/repartition the drive and reinstall Windows. It's always best to blow everything away and start over with a clean slate - however since this can be problematic with the Vaio, your next best bet would be to get a partitioning application (I use Partition Magic) and re-partition your drive so it's all one volume.

Yeah, I cringe when someone brings me a Sony laptop to fix. They have tons of proprietary crap that keeps you from doing things the easy way...

I second (third? fourth?) the recommendation to backup your important files, reformat/repartition the drive and reinstall Windows. It's always best to blow everything away and start over with a clean slate - however since this can be problematic with the Vaio, your next best bet would be to get a partitioning application (I use Partition Magic) and re-partition your drive so it's all one volume.

HTH

I'll second this. Clean install is nice way of doing that but if you feel that is too much work, invest in Partition Magic. This will let you do a non destructive resizing of the partitions so you will not have to wipe out everything and start over.

Rich, start fresh. Re-install xp and it will give you the option to nuke the partition. Nuke it and have only a c-drive. You will have much more flexibility then.

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Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Two things complete your pirate persona: style and swagger. Maybe a little too much swagger sometimes -- but who really cares? Arr!

Rich, start fresh. Re-install xp and it will give you the option to nuke the partition. Nuke it and have only a c-drive. You will have much more flexibility then.

My biggest problem is that I don't have the XP disks. My computer didn't come with them. Also, is there a way to save what I have now so after the drive is formatted everything will look the same?
I like the idea of formatting the hard drive and getting the junk off of it that I never use.
By the way... Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Hmmm, it should have come with restore disks. Getting it to look the same is gonna be difficult. When I re-format mine, I just nuke it all and re-install. That may be more than you really want to deal with. If you don't mind spending a few bucks, Best Buy has a geek squad, and they will re-set it all up. They may even do a backup and restore of data files. I think it is around $100. I would do it for you but I won't be in CO for a few months.

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Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Two things complete your pirate persona: style and swagger. Maybe a little too much swagger sometimes -- but who really cares? Arr!

My biggest problem is that I don't have the XP disks. My computer didn't come with them. Also, is there a way to save what I have now so after the drive is formatted everything will look the same?
I like the idea of formatting the hard drive and getting the junk off of it that I never use.
By the way... Thanks for all the great suggestions!

The easiest solution to get it looking mostly the same would be to use the Files and Settings Transfer wizard. You run it once as the 'old computer' before you reinstall, then again as the 'new computer' after you reinstall. It will cover a vast majority of the windows options and even a number of third party applications and your data (though this does NOT replace a proper backup).

You would still need an external drive or network location to copy a large amount of data to however.